Soul-itude

It happens only in ahmedabad!

2005-07-10T07:47:39Z

From the scarce outings that i have had of this city,here are a couple things that i guess would be peculiar to this wonderful city :)

- Localites deceptively pronounce a very simple sounding LAW GARDEN as "Love Garden" and manage to entice innocent outsiders like me to visit what would otherwise be just an ordinary garden fair

- Cafe Mocha doesnt allow stags on saturdays and sundays. good reason to pull up a girl along if you feel like having coffee. i wonder if they ecen have bouncers inside that cafe :)

Reviews are not my cup of tea

2005-05-19T03:45:00Z

...Yet once a while a director comes who just makes you sit up and applaud.
Baran- was the first Majid Majidi film that i chanced upon.
visually beautiful, simple plot with everyday settings and human moods and emotions form the fabric on which he weaves his magic.these are elements of all his films.with very few dialogues really yet he manages to capture emotions almost perfectly. while Baran brought a tear..perhaps a a smile to my face, Colour of Paradise struck a poignant note and Children of heaven amused me.
Be it children playing together in vast fields in color of paradise or the little goldfishes swarming across a little boys legs in children of heaven- the visual imagery that he brings to screen is both colourful and stunning.
heres raising a toast to beautiful cinema!

lyric_age @ 2005-04-13T08:41:00

2005-04-13T03:00:42Z

So finally after all the dust has cleared post IIM-results, i find myself on the road to Ahmedabad.
things will be tough i am told.
there will be sleepless nights i am told.
But i am all geared up :).

UNIVERSITY CHALLENGE

2005-02-01T04:21:15Z

360 TEAMS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
24 QUALIFY.
SIX MONTHS OF BATTLING IT OUT
AND WE FINALLY HAVE A WINNER...........

the results are out.
and the Victory...

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050210/asp/calcutta/story_4361561.asp

http://www.thestatesman.net/page.arcview.php?clid=19&id=97407&usrsess=1

The Answers

2005-02-01T04:17:32Z

Q1 T.S Eliot’s “The hollow men” begins with:
Mistah Kurtz - he dead.
A penny for the old Guy!
The first line being that from Heart of Darkness,
wherein Kurtz is described as both a "universal
genius" and a "hollow man" (The Hollow Men- is the
poem that Colonel Kurtz reads at the end of Apocalypse
Now).
Who is the old guy referred to in the second line?

Guy Fawkes- Alluding to the tradition of burning
effigies of guy fawkes, made out of straw ( hence the
hollow man) on his day.

Q2. M.S. subbalakshmi played the role of Narada in
“savitri”. Which man of letters acted in the role of
Narada, directed the film, composed songs for it, set
them to music and directed them In the 1934 film
“bhakta dhruva”?

the only unanaswered question - the answer i was
looking for is Kazi Nazrul Islam.

Though a Kannada movie by the same name also came out
the same year. so even Altekar would have fetched you
points.

Q3. According to Douglas Adams what was gods final
message to his creation?

"Sorry for the inconvenience/ We apologize for the
inconvenience."

Q4. She was reportedly born in New Jersey during the
year 1858. She followed a career in opera as a
contralto. Notable points of her career included
performances in La Scala, Milan, Italy and a term as
Prima Donna in the Imperial Opera of Warsaw. Sometime
before her 30th year, she retired from the operatic
stage and moved to London. Who?

"The Woman "- Irene Adler, from Sherlock Holmes.

Q5. The French actor Philippe Noiret essayed the role
of D'Artagnan in the 1994french film “Fille de
d'Artagnan”(D'Artagnan's Daughter). What other
literary role essayed in the same year is he chiefly
remembered for?

The very convincing role of Don Pable Neruda in `Il
Postino`- so much so that i was tricked into believing
that the don played himself!

Q6. Published in 1986, what was inspired by Charles
Johnston's translation of the Pushkin's 1833 Russian
classic, Eugene Onegin?.

Vikram Seth - "The Golden Gate"

Q7.which controversial book (published in the late
1920`s) is –
To
THE PEOPLES OF INDIA
AND TO
THAT INDIAN FIELD LABORER
WHO ONCE, BY AN ACT OF
HUMANITY, SAVED
MY LIFE?

Katherine Mayo`s Mother India- overtly racist and
dismissed by Gandhiji as a "gutter inspectors report".

Q8 what owned by Willy Wonka employed as its workforce
a group of people from Loompaland called- oompa
loompa`s?

The Chocolate Factory. (Roald Dahl)

Q9. What was smuggled by Ernest Hemingway who managed
to infiltrate it into the States - together with a
friend by hiding contraband copies across the border
from Canada in their trouser legs?.

Ulysses-James Joyce.

Q10. Who translated Upanishads into Persian directly
from Sanskrit and called it Sirr-e-Akbar (The Great
Mystery). This facilitated the further translation
into European languages influencing the likes of
Schopenhauer?

Dara Shikoh.

Lit there be light

2005-01-21T15:19:03Z

buried somewhere beneath the plethora of business and sports quizzes- heres a subject that is rarely touched in quizzing circles- Literature.

answers in about a week.

Q1 T.S Eliot’s “The hollow men” begins with:
Mistah Kurtz - he dead.
A penny for the old Guy!
The first line being that from Heart of Darkness, wherein Kurtz is described as both a "universal genius" and a "hollow man" (The Hollow Men- is the poem that Colonel Kurtz reads at the end of Apocalypse Now).
Who is the old guy referred to in the second line?

Q2. M.S. subbalakshmi played the role of Narada in “savitri”. Which man of letters acted in the role of Narada, directed the film, composed songs for it, set them to music and directed them In the 1934 film “bhakta dhruva”?

Q3. According to Douglas Adams what was gods final message to his creation?

Q4. She was reportedly born in New Jersey during the year 1858. She followed a career in opera as a contralto. Notable points of her career included performances in La Scala, Milan, Italy and a term as Prima Donna in the Imperial Opera of Warsaw. Sometime before her 30th year, she retired from the operatic stage and moved to London. Who?

Q5. The French actor Philippe Noiret essayed the role of D'Artagnan in the 1994french film “Fille de d'Artagnan”(D'Artagnan's Daughter). What other literary role essayed in the same year is he chiefly remembered for?

Q6. Published in 1986, what was inspired by Charles Johnston's translation of the Pushkin's 1833 Russian classic, Eugene Onegin?.
Q7.which controversial book (published in the late 1920`s) is –
To
THE PEOPLES OF INDIA
AND TO
THAT INDIAN FIELD LABORER
WHO ONCE, BY AN ACT OF
HUMANITY, SAVED
MY LIFE?

Q8 what owned by Willy Wonka employed as its workforce a group of people from Loompaland called- oompa loompa`s?

Q9. What was smuggled by Ernest Hemingway who managed to infiltrate it into the States - together with a friend by hiding contraband copies across the border from Canada in their trouser legs?.

Q10. Who translated Upanishads into Persian directly from Sanskrit and called it Sirr-e-Akbar (The Great Mystery). This facilitated the further translation into European languages influencing the likes of Schopenhauer?

lyric_age @ 2005-01-04T09:39:00

2005-01-04T04:08:19Z

Heres a beautiful Navajo prayer shefali told me about -In beauty may i walk

Happily may I walk.
Happily, with abundant dark clouds, may I walk.
Happily, with abundant showers, may I walk.
Happily, with abundant plants, may I walk.
Happily, on a trail of pollen, may I walk.
Happily may I walk.
Being as it used to be long ago, may I walk.
May it be beautiful before me,
May it be beautiful behind me,
May it be beautiful below me,
May it be beautiful above me,
May it be beautiful all around me.
In beauty it is finished.

christmas wishes

2004-12-26T05:58:54Z

Hi
Happy belated merry christmas to one and all.
hope you had a blast..best wishes for the festive season and the year ahead.

i personally have lots of things to look forward to-
Univ challenge, IIM- interviews etc etc.
but let me savour this festive season abhi..or as gulzar put it

yeh lamha filhaal jee lene de :)

lyric_age @ 2004-11-13T12:41:00

2004-11-13T07:16:09Z

O Wind,
if winter comes can spring be far behind..

-Percy Byshe Shelley

lyric_age @ 2004-10-31T08:40:00

2004-10-31T03:14:40Z

Dear diary,
just got back from Pilani after doing a quiz at BITS.
met loads of people, had a great time and enjoyed the cultural events.
there is something about bits that makes me go there again and again.

kwiz!!

2004-06-23T14:09:32Z

this is my first quiz posting here..as a result of the renewed enthu following the univ challenge selection rounds

Q1. Which famous 18th century work was composed to
cure Count Kayserling of insomnia?

Q2.What expression originated from the practice of the
members of the Knights Order of the Holy
spirit(founded 1578)of wearing a medal suspended on a
blue ribbon?
clue: they were renowned for their legendary feasts.

Q3.Which famous on-screen character was modeled on the
trademark of a box of matches which included an image
of Captain Matthew Webb, who in 1875 became the first
person to swim the channel (his heroic mustache and
proud stance are both mimicked)?

Q4.Who is credited with launching the Rhino
conservation movement in Kaziranga,Assam ?

Q5. "It matters not how strait the gate,
charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul"

concluding lines of a poem INVICTUS ,published in 1875
which were used by Timothy Mcveigh as his last words
before being executed.The poem was written by William
Ernest Henley, who was the model for a famous literary
character.which?

Q6.what did the horce races organised by the loyal
soldiers in the Princes National guard to celebrate
the marriage of King LudwigI (crown prince,Bavaria) to
Therese von Sachesen eventually grow into?

Q7.What was the subheading on side one of the doors
1970 album `Morrison Hotel`, which reputedly inspired
the name of something that started in an old Rolls
royce store in London in 1971?

Q8.How has the marriage of Giovanna Cenami,to an
italian merchant in Bruges.in 1434 been immortalised
as?

Q9.On his first and only visit to Lords he watched a
couple of maiden overs and said" let me know when the
game starts ",before walking out. who?

Q10. Before Fahrenheit 9/11, who`s documentary was the
last to win the Palme d'Or best film award at the
Cannes festival? (this was in 1956)

answers in a week or when results stop dripping in :)

ciao,
Rohan

Rain

2004-02-22T17:19:05Z

The wandering clouds halted for a while
sighed at his long lost friend,
suddenly broke into a smile
and as the two locked up in a warm embrace,
his tears covered the earths face.

The moving finger writes and having writ, moves on.....

2004-02-03T14:20:08Z

Hey you...
for the unsuspecting souls this is a forum for me to inflict my musings,passages,poems,scribbles etc etc on you.
DONT PANIC!!
lots of people have survived..so will you.
and incase you manage..your comments and all are always invited.
this isnt exactly one of those anne frank kinda diaries, because i feel my each day is far too eventful to be justified with a passage.nevertheless, ill keep filling in with headlines.
hope those who have dropped in will find it worthwhile.

ciao!!

Rohan

Kabhi Mushy Kabhi Dumb...

2004-01-30T17:20:44Z

Kabhi Mushy Kabhi Dumb...

A TRIBUTE TO THE GREAT INDIAN NET CHATTER

Ever heard of love at first site? Well, welcome to the `wild- life` called Internet chatting.
Why wild, the curious reader might ask. One look at the wide gamut of usernames and u stand answered. Ranging from spicy anatomical specifications, to simple next-door names like Akriti, Akshay, Aakansha.... from highbrow intellectual names to imaginative poesy...everyone has his own modusoperandi to vie for attention.
But beware! In case u end up entering as Rita, Sita or worse still, something spicier, don’t be surprised if u find all hell break loose as u r flooded with PM`S (private messages, for the uninitiated)
Once u r in the hunting grounds, its every one for himself as each tries to valiantly outdo the other in true Indian syamwar ishtyle.words fly as each tries to stamp his/her authority in the chat room. While other mortals, resort to flaunting their anatomy in the hope of incurring `meaningless reflexes automatically stimulated by the accident of beauty`. Proposals range from the very courteous” would u care to chat with a hot 20 year old " to the very senti "hello. I am very lonely. Would u please chat with me"? u really have a lot of variety to choose from. And yes u also have a lot of variety to offer. An introvert housewife can suddenly transform herself into a sizzling bold teen babe.... 80 year old veterans turn into sweet 16 Romeos.... u can dawn any mask u desire. One kiss of the net and whoa! Frogs get transformed to princes...princes to emperors and so on.

So, u finally manage to catch a fish in the `net`. what next? Conversations range from highly intellectual duels (u can discuss Shakespearean poetry, art reforms in cubism….oops did someone say get a life!) to even more brainstorming issues (like j.lo`s latest video).but a typical chat session exemplifies the title of the article.u just cant stay unaffected by the sweet mush flowing around.all the compliments and sweet pleasentries are bound to tickle ur senses.all that is exchanged is aimed at one single magic lamp...ur contact no. though the more experienced chatter might not settle for anything less than a blind date.(in case a college student turns out to be a retired pensioner u know what to do, pretend u r blind and run!)

Whatever the intricacies involved. Chatting has sure taken over as the great national pastime. It can be fun, funky or wild and offers instant connectivity.
Want to know more ?well in case , u r a guy the truth really is out there. In case u r a gal, v can chat!

Ahead, the deep blue pacific. Behind, the daunting Rockies. In between ,……

2004-01-30T14:55:13Z

Ahead, the deep blue pacific. Behind, the daunting Rockies. In between ,……

In between, stood our hero, a child of the valley. And yet, the land that his ancestors had been tilling for ages had always seemed alien to him. The mellifluous voices of the cuckoos there never made him hum along in joyous unison. The flowers that bloomed were but mere beautiful patterns painted on a landscape. His heart soared at the sight of wings spanning the azure skies. How often would he sit at the edge of the cliffs, hopeful eyes, gazing at the vast oceans that lay ahead?
Yet, Centuries of tradition stood behind him anchoring his feet to the native soil. Ages back, nature had isolated this civilization. Ever since, the soils there had never known foreign feet. Those ages now stood behind him, as daunting as the Rockies. It was a world that was complete in it-self and yet seemed incomprehensible to him. Long were the nights when he dreamt of the worlds beyond and of people that trod those worlds. His friends always shivered at the dreams he recounted. Theirs was a heart that had long since forgotten how to dream. The only emotion that his dreams conjured was that of fear. Fear of the unknown, the unseen and the unexplored.
Fear makes you a prisoner, hope sets you free. Somewhere within his heart lay the seeds of a desire to explore. a desire to break away from the mundane world of milking cows, and tendering sheep. It had all started when a sailor had been accidentally washed ashore. His floating body seemed like remnants of a link that had long broken a reminder of a world that lay beyond.
A vision softly creped up and one starry night he decided to dive into the ocean ahead, and break away. Each step that he took early next morning signified breaking of a bond, bonds with his kith and kin. And each time a bond broke, a sharp pang rang out in his heart. Yet, a burning desire propelled him on. Some feathers are just not meant to be captured. They are just too bright for the cages that hold them. He took one last look at the lands he had bid farewell. The Rockies behind, no longer seemed daunting. The plunge he took forward was a victory of hope. A reassurance that dream is a reality. Ernest Hemingway once said “the world is a beautiful place. It’s a place worth fighting for”.